Tonga: Mother beat daughter to death

The supreme court in Tonga has just dealt with a case of extreme brutality involving a mother beating her teenage daughter to death.

The mother, Fifita ‘Ofa – and her brother Tomasi ‘Ofa – have both pleaded guilty to manslaughter. They appeared for sentencing submissions last Friday and will know the judge’s decision tomorrow.

The court heard how the 14-year-old victim was severely and brutally beaten by both her mother and uncle on August 10, 2013 and was left neglected without medical attention until August 15 when she was admitted to Vaiola Hospital.

She died on the morning of August 16, 2013.

She sustained multiple blunt injuries on her face and arms with severe bruising and fractures on other parts of her body.

On the morning of August 10, 2013 at ‘Umusi, the mother assaulted her daughter all over her body using a notoriously heavy stick known as a sialemohe.

The beating lasted for about two-hours until the large stick broke in two.

The court heard that on the same day they left for Kolonga but stopped at the uncle’s home in Veitongo.

The victim was left at the home where she was assaulted again by her uncle with a piece of watering hose and a hammer.

The beating lasted for an hour and he only stopped when he hit her hand with the hammer causing a gaping wound between her finger and forefinger, the Crown Prosecutor Semisi Lutui told the court.

She was then taken to Kolonga on August 11 and was left neglected without care and proper medical attention.

She could not walk and was only taken to Vaiola Hospital on the afternoon of August 15, after a district doctor visited and ordered for her admission to hospital.

The doctor was said to have been notified by a neighbour who saw the state she was in. When rushed to hospital she was admitted into intensive care. However, she passed away the following morning.

A pathologist concluded after a post-mortem examination the cause of death was septic shock and multiple organ failure.

The doctor also concluded that if she was given timely medical attention her death could have been prevented.

Another woman, Mohulamu Toumohuni, the de-facto partner of the deceased girl’s father, earlier pleaded guilty to abetment to bodily harm in March this year.